I know some 600 students + 4 teachers who would like to be able to use Bambu Lab printers, but they can’t. Why? They use Chromebooks, so they can’t download Bambu Studio. For example: Makerbot Cloud Print, which is a free website to slice models to use on their printers. This way anybody who has access to the internet can use Makerbot printers. I know this is a big ask but @MakerWorld should make a website slicing software so their amazing printers are available to everyone. Does anybody agree?
It’s a good idea.
For now, can’t they just use Bambu Handy, I assume they all have a cell phone.
Phones are not permitted at the school.
There was another thread very similar to this topic.
I’d appreciate a web interface for printers as well. Something fairly simple, like Octoprint.
If this accumulates enough views and likes, I think we should contact @JonRaymond, @Makerworld and basically anybody who could actually get a hold of Bambu. If Bambu wants traffic on Makerworld, this is the way to go.
There already is a poll for this subject.
Thank you for showing me this! Now anybody who comes to this topic will be redirected towards the poll.
@JonRaymond, when does the poll end?
It’s open until the OP or a Mod closes it.
You never have to contact @JonRaymond … he’s watching… from the rooftops… like the Bambu Forum Batman…
Yes I do agree, I have already made a post on this that @Olias has quoted.
Once the poll is over, if it is a yes, I wonder how long it will take to finish constructing the website? They already have BS as a foundation.
Apparently there are a lot of schools using Chromebooks, so that totals to about 2000 students, 16 teachers and 30 Bambu printers. All of which would use the soon-to-be (hopefully) slicing website.
I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one. Nothing in this thread has made a business case that would persuade a for-profit entity to follow this suggestion.
Bambu’s all about that revenue chase these days—products out the door, cash in the till. They’re already struggling to get the next-gen model out that’s a year late, so why would they pour resources into a freebie web tool that won’t bring in a dime? Who’s the target here anyway? School districts running on budgets so tight they squeak? Not exactly a moneymaker! Besides, they’ve already got Bambu Studio and Bambu Handy. Free tools aren’t exactly what keeps the lights on.
As mentioned in many topics, MW’s goal isn’t just to get money, it is to get traffic. From their point of view, the more people the more profit. Making model slicing software accessible to everyone would be a huge step.
Alright, just to recap: the suggestion is that a free web version of an existing product will somehow increase traffic and—by some magic formula—boost revenue. But with Bambu Studio and Bambu Handy already meeting these needs, where’s this revenue spike supposed to come from? The only example so far is Chromebooks—cool, but that’s a low-demand market with, let’s face it, even lower revenue potential. Sounds like a whole lot of effort for… not much.
This discussion keeps coming back to ‘Bambulab should because it’s a great idea,’ but I’m still waiting to hear the ‘Bambulab should because it makes them more money’ part. Until that part adds up, this all feels pretty academic.
Now, I’ve never said it’s a bad idea; I’m just pointing out the futility of suggesting it without the sales pitch to justify the expense. It’s kind of like selling ice to Eskimos. Who knows, maybe Bambulab has something like this on the back burner, and this discussion will be the tipping point… but I wouldn’t bet on it just yet.
_________________________________________________________
It seems like those pushing for Bambulab to throw resources at this haven’t kept up with Valve’s failed Linux support for their gaming engine(AKA SteamOS) over the last decade. Everyone thought it was the next big thing… except, well, the customers who agreed didn’t actually show up to buy it. Valve’s still supporting Linux gaming despite their own stats showing it’s a commercial flop—and let’s not forget, it’s free! Sure, there’s been a recent uptick with SteamOS, but it’s really the Steam Deck driving those numbers, not the OS itself. Just goes to show: if you’re not putting in the bowl what the dogs want to eat, they’ll lose interest.
Remember 3D TVs (2000–17), Duracell Batteries with built-in testers (1996–2014), and Smart Refrigerators (2000–10)? Those seemed like great ideas… until they weren’t. The difference is that those products were actually aimed at things people thought they needed or wanted—right up until they tried them and realized they didn’t.
It’s not as simple as just putting it on the web. They’d most likely need to redesign a lot of it. This is something that the open source community could probably do though, as Bambu Studio is open source. The main thing there would just be the costs of hosting it.
There are lesser companies out there who have created a slicer on the web, yet they’re on a tighter budget. Bambu will also profit from over 200ish schools buying printers.